Mongolian Recipes

Mongolian food reflects a herding life on a cold, dry steppe. For centuries the diet has split into red foods, meaning meat from sheep, goats, cattle, horses and camels, and white foods, meaning milk, cream, yogurt and dried curds. Vegetables and spices were scarce, so seasoning stays plain: salt, onion, garlic and sometimes caraway or black pepper. Boiled mutton, steamed dumplings called buuz and fried meat pies called khuushuur are everyday fare, while winter brings noodle soups, stews and a great deal of salty milk tea. Flour dishes such as tsuivan, a noodle stir-fry, and rice dishes from city kitchens show the influence of neighbors. At Tsagaan Sar, the lunar new year, families stack buttery biscuits called ul boov, steam hundreds of buuz and share boiled mutton. Summer is the season of dairy and of Naadam, when khuushuur are sold at every field.

Staple ingredients

• mutton and beef
• wheat flour
• milk and dried curds (aaruul)
• onions
• salt
• potatoes, carrots and cabbage
• salted milk tea

• Soups 1
• Main Dishes 4
• Desserts 1
• Snacks 1
• Drinks 1

Soups

• Guriltai Shol (Mongolian Noodle Soup with Mutton)MN2 h 20 minEasy

Main Dishes

• Buuz (Mongolian Steamed Meat Dumplings)MN1 h 25 minMedium
• Budaatai Khuurga (Mongolian Beef and Vegetables with Rice)MN55 minEasy
• Khorkhog (Mongolian Mutton and Vegetable Pot)MN3 h 5 minEasy
• Tsuivan (Mongolian Noodles with Meat and Vegetables)MN1 h 5 minEasy

Desserts

• Ul Boov (Mongolian Butter Biscuits for Tsagaan Sar)MN1 h 15 minEasy

Snacks

• Khuushuur (Mongolian Fried Meat Pies)MN1 h 15 minMedium

Drinks

• Suutei Tsai (Mongolian Salted Milk Tea)MN20 minEasy